Northern shorebirds action plan: conserve
Identify key bird habitat sites and recommend areas for protection
Priority - high
Bird Conservation Regions (BCR) - 3, 4, 6, 7
Through the Arctic Program for Regional and International Shorebird Monitoring (PRISM), it is possible to identify key shorebird habitat sites and get a 'big picture' ranking of sites relative to each other. Thus PRISM provides an excellent vehicle for key site identification. As PRISM completes surveys in regions of the Arctic, results will be published and recommendations regarding protection will be communicated to the Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) habitat programs, which are responsible for accomplishing protection of the areas.
Key result:
- key breeding sites are identified and proposed for appropriate designation.
Monitor the extent of lowland habitat destruction by snow geese on nesting shorebirds and determine its effect on local shorebird populations
Priority - low
Bird Conservation Regions - 3
Burgeoning populations of nesting and brood-rearing Snow Geese are destroying large areas of lowland habitat. These are often the same habitats that shorebirds favour for nesting. With the exception of climate change, this habitat destruction is likely the largest threat to Arctic shorebird habitat.
Much work is currently in progress at Churchill, La Perouse Bay, Karrak Lake, and Bylot Island to determine changes in vegetation composition at expanding and/or large but stabilized goose colonies. Most of these areas also support(ed) prime shorebird nesting or foraging habitat. In other impacted areas, it would be possible to estimate amounts of shorebird habitat lost, but this has not yet been done. There are still new goose colonies forming in new areas, some of which are known to contain high shorebird numbers (e.g. Coats Island). What is needed is a concentrated effort that a) compiles known estimates of lost shorebird habitat; b) calculates lost habitat in impacted areas; c) chronicles the changes as they occur at a 'new' goose colony; and d) assesses efforts to control goose populations as they translate into on-the-ground improvements in shorebird habitat and numbers. This effort could feed into the snow goose control efforts by targeting certain goose populations or geographic areas where large shorebird numbers and prime habitat still exist.
Key results:
- Effects of expanding snow goose populations on shorebird habitat are understood;
- Effects of expanding snow goose populations on shorebirds are mitigated.
Provide expert input to environmental assessments and follow-up monitoring programs
Priority - high
Bird Conservation Regions - 3, 4, 6, 7
One way to influence the status and use of bird habitats is to provide appropriate recommendations to environmental assessments of developments and undertakings. The Shorebird Conservation Program will provide input regarding shorebirds and their habitats to environmental assessment processes. It is likely that over the next term of this Action Plan, much of the Shorebird Program's effort in this area will focus on developing a follow-up monitoring program for the Mackenzie Oil and Gas project and its ancillary developments. The aim of this program will be to enable adaptive management of the project, and to provide some insight into thresholds for cumulative effects management in the future.
Key result:
- Bird populations and habitats are shielded from the worst effects of development through recommendation of appropriate mitigation measures;
- Cumulative effects thresholds for shorebird species are detected as development continues in the Mackenzie Delta and Valley
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